Lakers Rumors: Wing players to make this Cleveland Cavaliers west

Los Angeles Lakers rumors have picked up since the Anthony Davis trade was first reported. There a multiple wing players available that will continue making the Lakers into the Cleveland Cavaliers west.

Sunday June 30th at 6:00 PM EST is the start of the official free agency for the Los Angeles Lakers and the culmination of Lakers rumors. Well, the Lakers rumors basically started when it was clear that LeBron James was leaving the Cleveland Cavaliers (Like, again!) to come to the Lakers.

This collection of Lakers rumors will surround the former teammates that played on the roster with James on those title runs that led to four Eastern Conference championships and one NBA title in 2016.

Lake Show Life already listed a few of LeBron’s former teammates laying out the potential options at guard. Some were welcomed in the comments section while others thought the team would be “unwatchable”.

No matter which side of the free agency fence you are on, there’s one thing all of the Lakers fans can agree on; they are on the veteran’s minimum level and they are cheap.

Over the last two summers, the Lakers have accomplished Magic Johnson‘s goal of bringing in superstars to make the franchise the talk of the NBA again. That mission was accomplished on every part of the spectrum.

On the positive side of things, the Lakers signed LeBron James and traded everything short of season tickets next to Jack Nicholson for Anthony Davis. On the bad side of things was the Hollywood comedy show about a franchise that looked like amateurs trying to make it in a professional league.

But with two top 5 players in LeBron James and Anthony Davis with Kyle Kuzma in the fold, the next step is to get a potential star before filling out the roster. Well, that is the rub in how much noise the Lakers can make starting Sunday night through the summer.

Depending on who you believe about the amount of cap space to sign that special player makes things difficult. The only number that is consistent is where the Lakers want to get to which is $32.5 million dollars.

The running joke in Lakers rumors these days is actually how much space the Lakers have. Most say the Lakers have $23.7 million while Brian Windhorst insists that the team has less than that based on Reggie Bullock‘s $4.750,000 cap hit.

But let’s figure out how the Lakers can get to the $32 million dollar level. Then we can really see if that will happen.

Anthony Davis will have to waive his trade kicker! Well…

Shedding the contracts of Isaac Bonga, Moritz Wagner and Jemerrio Jones onto another team. I mean…

Kemba Walker is now for the possible taking at $32 million dollars. Nate Wimberly, the Executive Sports Producer at WBTV in Charlotte gave the price tag of Walker. 

Lake Show Life is in the middle of an in-depth series on how to build this squad in the image of LeBron James on a shoestring budget.

Part one was about getting guards on the roster. Next up we talk small forwards. Let’s see who the Lakers fans realistically may see next season in the frontcourt.

There is a narrative about LeBron James that needs to be addressed!

There are a lot of analysts in the media that believe that LeBron James should have a strong opinion on the way the Lakers roster is put together.

Here’s an example right here in Ryan Hollins on First Take. He talks about how LeBron James and Klutch Sports should have Jeanie Buss’ complete trust going forward.

Where do you think he got that experience? Lakers fans should know him quite well. It happens to be Pat Riley, who invented the process that the Lakers are desperately trying to execute right now.

Seemingly from the Heat bench, for four years, James witnessed Riley put together a roster of three superstars (LeBron James, Chris Bosh and Dwyane Wade) and surround them with veteran players on minimum contracts, mid-level exceptions and a few rookie deals.

Pat Riley always seemed to surround the “Big Three” with capable players like Shane Battier, Mike Miller, Udonis Haslem and Ray Allen. I think we all remember Ray Allen’s contribution to the team.

All for the tidy sum of the $3 million dollar range. Pat Riley and the Miami Heat took advantage of Allen’s deteriorating relationship in Boston and convinced him that he could be an important part of a championship team. Something that Boston was not doing to Allen’s satisfaction. Riley then filled the end of the bench flipping multiple players earning the league minimum.

After four years in Miami, LeBron took his talents (and Pat Riley’s playbook) to Cleveland and set up the same situation. David Griffin took advantage of Kevin Love forcing his way out of Minnesota to swing a deal to get Kevin Love. With Kyrie Irving already locked in on a long-term deal, the Cavaliers had their own big three.

With the front office flipping the roster on the fly while LeBron James bringing in James Jones and Mike Miller, two players he was close to in Miami, the roster was filled with veteran players with minimum wage contracts.

All of the attention will be given fairly to LeBron James and Anthony Davis, but Rob Pelinka’s real job will be filling out this roster on a shoestring budget.

Pat Riley did it in Miami. David Griffin did it in Cleveland while LeBron James constantly complained about the roster. Remember the “Top heavy” rant.

"“It’s like when you don’t have bodies. It’s tough,” James said. “The f—ing grind of the regular season. We’re a top-heavy team. We have a top-heavy team. We top-heavy as s—. It’s me, [Kyrie Irving], [Kevin Love]. It’s top-heavy.” “We need a f—ing playmaker,” James said. “I’m not saying you can just go find one, like you can go outside and see trees. I didn’t say that.”"

Now think back to how Charles Barkley and Shaquille O’Neal debated on the subject.

Cleveland was in FIRST PLACE at the time. To take it further, they were the defending champs. David Griffin did some magic and added some veterans with Dan Gilbert’s blank checkbook. This is totally different. There’s a budget here. Man is next year going to be fun!

Here’s the list of league minimum veterans the Lakers can get in LeBron’s image.

Melo never played with LeBron. but Anthony checks a very important box

Carmelo Anthony will be playing for the Lakers next season fans; book it! You see, Carmelo ALMOST was on the team last year.

If you remember, Ivica Zubac was traded to the Los Angeles Clippers along with Michael Beasley for Mike Muscala. If you noticed, the deal left a roster spot for Melo if the Lakers made a playoff run. Well, the run never materialized and the spot was left open for the rest of the season.

I was convinced that Carmelo Anthony was on his way to Los Angeles after the way he was treated in Houston.

His closest friends were quick to come to his defense when the Rockets dumped him.

https://twitter.com/KingJames/status/1061879534172041217?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw%7Ctwcamp%5Etweetembed%7Ctwterm%5E1061879534172041217&ref_url=https%3A%2F%2Flakeshowlife.com%2F2018%2F11%2F13%2Flos-angeles-lakers-4-reasons-buy-sell-carmelo-anthony%2F

I did a piece last season the pros and cons of having Melo in a Lakers uniform. Right now, he is a perfect fit for the Lakers. Why?

The Lakers can offer him the league minimum for scoring punch off the bench and as you can see he is working on that corner 3-point shot.

https://twitter.com/overtime/status/1140779366571532288

Look, I will readily admit that I am a Carmelo Anthony fan and would love to see him go out on his terms and not the way of the Thunder, Hawks and Rockets route. The Lakers need veterans that can put the ball in the basket at crucial times when LeBron starts passing it and Melo can do that. Plus, at the attractive price of the league minimum.

Like it or not, part of putting a squad together around LeBron James includes bringing in some of his friends. That’s just the way it is.

Trevor Ariza left Houston for big money, I think he misses winning

Trevor Ariza was another player that the Lakers were very close to getting last year. Ariza cashed in his accomplishments in Houston and signed a one-year, $15 million dollar contract in Phoenix.

It didn’t take long after his name got in the computer system that things weren’t working out at all in the desert. After the Suns GM got fired literally five minutes before the season started and was replaced by James Jones, it seemed the mission statement of keeping veterans on the team was blotted out. When Tyson Chandler was bought out, the Lakers got him immediately.

The conspiracy theories around those circumstances came out immediately according to ESPN’s Dave McMenamin.

"There’s one working theory of why the Suns granted Chandler the buyout now instead of in February or March when the traditional wave of buyouts occur: Phoenix interim GM James Jones was a longtime teammate of LeBron’s in Miami and Cleveland. “James did LeBron a solid,” a league source told ESPN. When presented with the claim, LeBron said it was really Chandler who benefited the most. “He deserves all the credit,” he told ESPN of Jones. “He was very instrumental. He did right by Tyson as a veteran.” He then added more praise on Jones, whom he once called his “favorite player of all time” by telling ESPN that whenever he owns an NBA team down the line, he is saving a spot for Jones in his front office. “I told him he needs an opt-out clause wherever he’s at,” James said with a smile."

That deal made the Suns look really bad around the NBA. The Lakers thought they had a deal done to acquire Ariza but…

Now that Trevor Ariza is an unrestricted free agent, Robert Sarver will not be interfering. Ariza is a perfect candidate who could possibly join the team for the veteran’s minimum. He would be perfect for a team that needs a wing defender that will play defense every single night.

After that nightmare in Phoenix, the Lakers can sell Ariza on playing for a championship that slipped by him in Houston. It bears mentioning that many of Houston’s issues started with replacing Ariza’s defensive prowess with Carmelo Anthony’s scoring abilities. The Rockets loss can definitely be the Lakers’ gain.

Plus, what gets lost in what Trevor Ariza brings is championship pedigree. Remember he was on the Lakers last title team in 2009.

Let’s take a look back before we move on.

Once you get past Lance Stephenson‘s crossover, Jeff Green is perfect for this team

Jeff Green has a ton of natural talent. For some reason, Green just doesn’t put it on display on a consistent basis.

Remember, Jeff Green was a lottery pick by Danny Ainge for the Boston Celtics years ago. Of course, he was immediately traded to the Oklahoma City Thunder franchise (Then Seattle Sonics) in a deal for Ray Allen.

Since his heart surgery, Green has bounced around the NBA. One of those stops was in Cleveland on one of LeBron James NBA Finals teams in 2017-18. After his one season in Cleveland, he played last season in Washington.

Nobody would have noticed if it wasn’t for Lance Stephenson.

But Jeff Green is perfect for the budget of the Los Angeles Lakers. He can easily be gotten for the veteran’s minimum. He obviously tries on defense (people say Green’s foot was stepped on, that’s why he fell) and can knock down an occasional 3-point shot.

In addition, he has experience in dealing with the circus that surrounds LeBron James. Plus with his NBA Finals experience, Jeff Green can be counted on around playoff time.

All of these guys are veterans and they are all cheap!

To the people who believe that Bojan Bogdanovic, the Morris twins or even Bobby Portis should be on this list just don’t get it. 3 and D wing players are a premium and they will command more money over more years than these guys on the list.

The Lakers will be filling the roster with veteran’s playing for the minimum hoping for one last championship run. If the Lakers get one more star, don’t be surprised if five to six players fall into this category to avoid luxury taxes.

Lakers fans will have to understand the logic of this team in the summer. The structure of how this roster will be built in LeBron James’ image whether Lakers fans like it or not. Now the Lakers are totally all in to make a run for the NBA championship this year.

Lake Show Life will be examining the power forwards next in our series on players the Lakers will have to look at for bargain basement prices. Be on the lookout for them leading up to the free agency bonanza this weekend.